J.K. Rowling founded Lumos to help vulnerable children.
Lumos is an international charity that works to end the institutionalization of children and support family- and community-based care. Rowling launched the organization in 2005, when it was originally known as the Children’s High Level Group. It was later renamed Lumos, a reference to a light-producing spell in the Harry Potter books.
The charity’s work focuses on children separated from their families, including those living in orphanages or other institutions. Its stated approach is to help governments and local partners develop services that allow children to grow up in families or family-like settings where possible.
The organization is separate from Rowling’s fiction, although its name draws on the Wizarding World. It also reflects a recurring public theme in Rowling’s charitable work: improving conditions for children facing poverty, displacement, or inadequate care. Lumos has worked internationally rather than functioning as a fictional Hogwarts institution.